Children of Time (episode)
Investigating a planet surrounded by a powerful energy field, the crew of the Defiant discovers their own descendants, and learns that in two days they will crash two hundred years in the past. Summary Jadzia Dax insists on investigating an unusual energy barrier around a planet in the Gamma Quadrant. When the Defiant goes through the field it is damaged and would be forced to remain in orbit for several days, while Kira is struck by an energy discharge although it has no immediate ill effects. As the crew bemoan the extra wait to return home after an extensive mission, they are suddenly hailed by inhabitants of the planet, who appear to know them. They beam down to the planet, known as Gaia, and discover that the inhabitants have surnames such as Dax and O'Brien. These people explain to the crew that the existence of the 8,000 inhabitants is the result of an event that will take place in two days' time, when the Defiant somehow travels 200 years into the past and crashes onto the planet's surface. Chief O'Brien learns that he has remarried and produced descendants; Dax meets the "future" host of her symbiont, Yedrin Dax. A "Klingon" tribe also exists in this alternate timeline, as does Odo, whose long lifespan allows him to reunite with his old friends from Deep Space 9. The crew also learns that, tragically, Kira had died in this timeline not long after the crash as the energy discharge has caused neural damage, and the Defiant's medical systems were unable to help, although she would be saved if she was returned to Deep Space Nine in time. As future-Odo and Kira tour the planet (a tour that includes a visit to Kira's grave), he tells her how he felt about her 200 years ago. Yedrin Dax offers a solution that will allow a "duplicate" Defiant to appear at the moment the accident is to occur, allowing the Defiant to leave the system while still leaving the alternate timeline on Gaia intact. However, Dax soon finds that this is not truly Yedrin's intention, that his solution will only doom the Defiant to repeat the alternate history. The crew of the Defiant decide to foil Yedrin's plan, but after a period of bonding with their descendants, many crew members, most notably Kira, protest destroying the timeline. Benjamin Sisko eventually appeals to her but with even Chief O'Brien, who was the most against remaining on the planet, unwilling to leave Sisko is convinced and the crew decides history must proceed as planned. The Defiant starts the attempt to leave and the crew prepare for the inevitable crash, but the crash is avoided when the Defiant swerves and misses the rift, the flight plan having being changed. The Defiant makes it out of orbit and the planet now reads as having no lifesigns, it's inhabitants having never existed. The crew are devastated, and can only conclude that Yedrin, in a last minute act of guilt, changed the course. Sisko assures everyone that the inhabitants will continue to exist as long as they are remembered. As the Defiant heads back to the Alpha Quadrant, the present-day Odo visits Kira and tells her that the future-Odo had linked with him before their departure, and that he is aware of the confession of love. He also tells her that it was the future-Odo who changed the Defiant's flight plan in order to save Kira's life. Kira is very upset to learn this, now being forced to live with the knowledge that 8,000 lives were sacrificed for her. Memorable Quotes "I've always thought Quark would make a great math teacher" : - Yedrin Dax "Are you the son of Mogh?" "Yes, I am." "Is it true you can kill someone just by looking at them?" "Only when I am angry." : - Gabriel and Worf, at their first meeting "They existed. As long as we remember them, they always will." : - Sisko, to Dax Background Information * In this episode, set on Stardate 50814.2, Lt. Cmdr. Worf and members of Deep Space 9 travel back in time 200 years. Later, during the events of , set on Stardate 50893.5, Lt. Cmdr. Worf and members of the travel back in time 310 years. :Star Trek: First Contact'' is actually supposed to take place before "Children of Time," but the stardates seem to place the film after the episode (see ). * The Enterprise episode bears a strong resemblance to this one. *Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko) does not appear in this episode. *This is the last episode to feature the Gamma Quadrant, until Odo's return to the Great Link in . Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 5.11, . *As part of the DS9 Season 5 DVD collection. Links and References Guest Stars * Gary Frank as Yedrin Dax * Jennifer S. Parsons as Miranda O'Brien * Davida Williams as Lisa * Doren Fein as Molly Co-Stars * Brian Evaret Chandler as Brota * Marybeth Massett as Parell * Jesse Littlejohn as Gabriel Uncredited Co-Stars *David R. Maier as a Klingon descendant *Douglas Tait as a a Gaia colonist *Randy James as Lt. Jones References Chattel; Gaia; "Here's to the Losers"; kerripate; Kirby, Angie; Tannenbaum, Rita; tessipate; torga; Torvin; yar-bear |next= }} Category:DS9 episodes de:Kinder der Zeit es:Children of Time nl:Children of Time